Exposed ~ Part 1
by Michela
Summary: Well, it's finally here! Sorry it took so long, I had school and writer's block... Hope you like it!


**Exposed ~ Part 1  
**Chapter 1  


My name is Tobias.  
I may sound like a normal person, without the weight of the world on his shoulders. But I'm not normal. Come to think of it, I never _was_ normal. You probably know about the war, don't you? If not, I'll tell you some background.  
I was a pretty much normal kid, except for the fact that I was thrust to different family members every once and a while. My parents were supposedly dead. Then one day I saw my friend Jake in the mall, a day that would change my life forever. I was always sort of a nerd, and Jake was the only one who actually showed signs of liking me. So I asked him if I could walk with him and his friends, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel home. He said sure. Why not? So we walked.   
There are two ways of going home from the mall. The long, safe way, or the short and more dangerous way, through the abandoned construction site. We, not knowing what would happen to us, went through the construction site. When we crossed the constructing site, we saw a spacecraft, which landed right in front of us. The thing that came out of the spacecraft, which we learned was an andalite, looked relatively like a mythical centaur, with a chest and shoulders like a human, a body relating to a deer, covered in short, light blue fur, and a definitely unearthly head. The head consisted of large, green, almond eyes, large, pointy ears, stalk eyes, and where the mouth would be, short, vertical slits. Long story short, the dying andalite prince told us about an evil parasitic race of alien slugs, called yeerks. He told us that the Yeerks are a race that take things from you. But they don't take objects, they take a host species; they take you. And the leader of the invasion of Earth, an abomination, with the body of an andalite but the mind of a yeerk, was Visser Three.   
The andalite, after giving us that information, gave us the only weapon that could help us, the power to morph into any animal we could touch. But it came with one catch, to never stay in morph for more than two hours at a time, or be trapped in that morph.   
Soon, the yeerks came, with strange host species from planets we could never imagine. Visser Three walked among them, seeping with evil. Soon, Visser Three morphed into something horrendous and consumed the dying andalite in its wrath. The creature who gave us the power was Elfangor, and as I learned later, my father.   
On our first fateful mission, I became trapped in Red-tailed hawk morph. Later, a powerful creature called an Ellimist, gave me the power to morph from my hawk body, and my old human body -- temporarily.  
That is our story. Just a story. For during this mission; we made history.**  
**

Chapter 2  


"No, I have to help you guys!" Rachel pleaded from her seat on a haystack in Cassie's barn.  
"Rachel, you're sick. Besides, this is only going to be a simple mission," Jake replied while pacing back and fourth.  
I was in my usual perch in the rafters, looking and listening to the conversation Jake and Rachel were having. About a week ago, Rachel got sick. Not severely, but just enough to make us worried. Or enough to make me worried, at least.   
< Rachel, you need a break anyway, so rest. You don't need to get into anymore danger, > I coaxed in private thought-speak. Rachel looked up and nodded.  
"We can handle this, oh mighty Xena," Marco exclaimed from his seat on a bale of hay.   
Rachel just looked at him and said, "Mighty Marco, before you defeat me with your wit, your fly's open."  
Marco looked down, at his zipper. It was open, and I, being a hawk, saw that he probably had this underwear on for days.  
< Marco, you will destroy us all with that kind of underpants. Save it for the yeerks, > I said lightheartedly. Cassie and Jake tried to suppress snickers and Rachel burst out laughing.   
"All the more to destroy you, Little Red Riding Rachel," Marco exclaimed with an evil laugh. We finished snickering when we heard a loud squawk from a Goose Cassie was tending to.  
"Keep in mind that this only going to be a spy mission, so Rachel, you won't miss anything," Cassie declared while trying to shove a pill inside the wounded goose's throat.  
"Oh fine," Rachel replied.  
Jake stopped pacing and leaned on a cage with a Small fox with a burnt muzzle lying inside it. The fox eyed me hungrily.  
Through the small window in Cassie's Barn, I saw two figures walking our way. Erek and Ax in human morph.  
< Here comes Ax and Erek, > I said, flying on top of an empty cage.   
"Good." Jake replied, "Erek'll give us some background information."  
A minute later, Erek and Ax walked in the barn nonchalantly. Erek, with his hologram on, looked liked a smaller version of Jake. But when his hologram is off, he resembles a dog who walks on his hind legs, made of a sort of metal and milk white plastic combination. Erek is a Chee. The Chee are a race of androids created by the Pemalites, an extinct race of pacifists who were filled with joy. Now all that is left of the Pemalites are in dogs. Controllers believe he is infested with a yeerk, but he's not. He fooled the yeerk and the controllers into believing that. Now he is spying on the yeerks. Erek is thousands of years old and incredibly strong. But his strength comes with one setback, he can't fight.   
Ax, in his human morph, looked like a combination of Jake, Rachel, Cassie, and Marco melded together. He is a boy, but looks strangely pretty, like a girl. In his normal form, he is an andalite. He is also my uncle, Elfangor's brother, and one of my best friends.  
< Hi Ax, Hey Erek, > I greeted.  
"Hello!" Ax replied, his face smeared with what I hoped was chocolate.  
"Hi Tobias; everyone. Ax and I went to an Ice Cream stand on the trip here," Erek explained.  
"I have some news," Erek continued, "the yeerks have been getting desperate with the process of making new hosts. They've had to infest random people from lower ranks of the Sharing,"  
< That's not good, > I exclaimed.  
"They've also been trying to push harder to get new recruits," Erek reported. "Also," he continued, "controllers are trying to get all family members there. Which means-"  
"-Tom will try extra hard to take my family," Jake said and nodded solemnly. "But I'll never let that happen. I'll kill Tom's yeerk. No matter what the cost."  


**Chapter 3**  


We decided that we would spy on The Sharing next Saturday, which is three days from now. The others had school to go to, homework to do, families to be with. I, on the other hand, had nothing to do. Sometimes I miss the old days. The days before my friends and I joined this war. My life at home was tough, but I had so much too. I had TV, I had books, I had hands. I don't know what I would do without the things I know, the lives I had made better, the lives I made worse, the lives I've help start, the lives I've ended. I don't know where I would be. For instance, when I found out that my father was Elfangor. If I didn't keep up the role I took on when I found out, would I be a controller? Probably. Sometimes I just think about what I wouldn't have. Friends, new found family members, the chance to fly, Rachel. Where would I be without Rachel? Rachel is a warrior, a beautiful girl, inside and out, a shoulder to cry on; a friend to confide in. All of my friends are like that, but Rachel is special. We've been through so much together. My friends are my only real family. I trust them, I laugh with them, I cry with them, I worry with them. That makes me really appreciate being friends with them.  
I thought about that while I flew towards the school my friends go to. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I had already eaten breakfast, a big, juicy rat, when I decided that I should go check how Rachel was doing. I flew over the road leading to the school and caught a beautiful thermal that made me soar high above the trees. When I got high enough to see a plane passing just above me, I shifted my altitude to speed and flew toward the school. In just a few minutes, I saw the dull, brick building of the school. The only thing that made me feel good about the place was the sight of Rachel, sneaking a book into science class. I landed and sunk my talons on a sweet Oak tree near the window of the class.  
< Hey Rachel, > I said to her in private thought-speak.  
Of coarse, she couldn't answer. You can't use thought-speak unless you're in morph. It was a good thing her desk was next to the window. She scribbled a note down in her notebook, then held it out so I could see it. It said, 'Hello! Spying on me again?' with a little smiley face next to it.   
< Nah, I'm just bored, so I just went to the school to see how you were doing, > I replied. < have you heard anything else about The Sharing from Erek? >  
The teacher noticed that she wasn't paying attention, so he snapped at her and asked a question. Rachel, being Rachel, answered with total confidence. The teacher looked satisfied. After that, she wrote down another note. The note said, 'No, the plans are still on. I can't really talk to you right now, my teacher has something very large jammed up his butt today. Do you wanna come to my house tonight?'  
< Sure! > I exclaimed and flew out to check on Ax. I flew over the trees, along the clouds on a warm, billowy updraft. I could see almost everything up here. This is one of the things that I savor about my life. The thermal lifted me like an elevator up in the sky. When it ended, I glided toward the meadow where Ax lives. The trip took almost no effort. It took only about five minutes to reach Ax's scoop. He was there, slicing branches off trees with his fast, scythe tail blade.  
< Welcome Tobias! Did your morning go well? > Ax asked, putting his tail at a safe distance away from the branch I landed on.  
< Yes, > I replied, < I had a good breakfast and visited Rachel. What could be better? >  
< I know what, > Ax remarked with a strange look of glee on his andalite face, < The Young and the Restless is on! >   


**Chapter 4**  


After a day of hanging out with Ax, I decided to catch myself dinner and go to Rachel's house. It was sunset when I took off for her house. For some reason sunsets are more colorful when you're visiting someone special; more beautiful. Even though the thermals were dying down and I had to use more effort to fly, thinking of Rachel somehow made me soar higher. I feel that I have to savor every moment with her. I don't know why, but I get an awful sinking feeling when I have to leave her side. I shook that feeling off. I was going to Rachel's tonight. Why think of times without her? The sky was practically blue/black when I reached her room. I perched on a small bird house-type thing near her window, which she made to fit me. I waited until all the lights in Rachel's house were off except for hers and tapped on her window with my talon. She walked up to the window and opened it. I flapped clumsily onto her dresser. Rachel looked extravagant, as usual, but I couldn't help noticing that she looked slightly ill. Was the sickness a simple bug or would it turn out to be something serious?  
< Hi Rachel, > I said.  
"Hey Tobias, how are you?" Rachel whispered.  
< I had a good day, but Ax just doesn't get daytime TV very much, does he? > I replied.   
She chuckled.  
"I just hope he doesn't take up the 'Zestfully Clean' act again," she added.  
Suddenly, my feelings got the better of me.  
< Rachel, > I remarked while making the most sympathetic look I could muster with my fierce hawk eyes, but the look was swallowed by a hawk's natural glare, < I'm worried about you. You look even paler than when we had the meeting, but you were in school today. Are you sure you feel up to going to school? >  
"Tobias, don't worry about me," she replied, "I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's just a bug! I'll get over it. I agreed to sitting out the mission, I have nothing to worry about but you and the others."   
< I just have these . . . feelings, > I admitted. < Are you sure that you'll be okay? >  
"Positive," she said convincingly.  
She was very convincing, but something still nagged at the back of my neck. What could it be? She was looking straight into my eye. She cared about all of us. The only thing that made me worry was that, as she smiled, I saw a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead. She looked convinced. But did she really believe it?  
"You ready for the mission on Saturday?" She said while wiping her forehead to get the sweat off.  
< Pretty much. I guess we'll wing it. It is just a spy mission, isn't it? >   
I was telling myself this, even as I spoke. But that nagging little voice inside of me was telling me that this wasn't going to be easy. It was right.  


**Chapter 5**  


Finally, Saturday came, and Rachel was getting me slightly worried. Every day she was looking worse and even though I insisted that she took a day off to rest, she just said no. Could she tough it out?   
The plan was that, in the morning, we'd meet at Ax's scoop, morph into birds, and fly to the new community center, where The Sharing's meeting was going to be held, morph to flies, and listen to the meeting. Erek was going to be at the meeting in case we missed anything in our fly morphs. No big whoop, right?  
< I think the meeting might be long, > Jake said once we were all in the air, < Tom took off a few minutes ago and said that he's going to miss dinner. >  
< All that time for just one meeting? > Cassie wondered, < Do the yeerks have some different plan? >  
< Nothing that Erek knows about, > Jake replied.  
< Well we're going to know it in a few minutes, > Marco exclaimed.  
The osprey that was probably Marco or Cassie was approaching me.  
< Uh, Cassie? Marco? Who ever is coming near, go back. You don't want this to become a bird watchers convention, > I said.  
< Oh, sorry Tobias, > Cassie replied, < I just have a feeling that we're missing something. >  
< I have that feeling too, > I reassured her, < Rachel will be coming back soon, I hope. >   
About when that happened, I caught this sweet updraft, and I felt we were not alone. Ax caught on before me.  
< Bug Fighter! > He warned.  
I couldn't quite see it, but I saw the ripple in the sky and felt a surtain feeling that we were not alone.   
Jake warned, < Tobias, Cassie, Ax, on the count of three, veer left. Marco, turn a sharp right with me, on the count of three. One. Two. . . THREE! >  
We all shifted our speed in a turn that made my muscles ache. Suddenly, something I couldn't see, but something large jetted in the space where some of us were flying with a WHOOSH! The fighter was heading toward the direction of the community center.  
< AAAARG! > Marco cried as he twisted in the open air.  
< Marco! > Jake yelled as he went into a stoop to help Marco.   
It looked like Jake, a peregrine falcon, was about to catch a nice big osprey, Marco, for dinner. But he was helping him the best he could. But the downside was that Jake was the smallest of all of us. He'd never be able to hold an osprey. I dove down to give back up help if they needed it, then Cassie. Ax was too far away to help, so all he could do is wait and watch as Marco twisted in the blue sky. Luckily, Marco got in enough control for Jake to help him. Jake dove and dug his talons slightly into Marco's back.   
< Hey, little falcon man, that hurts! > Marco proclaimed  
< Well, you'd be meat if I didn't help you, > He replied.  
That was just in time for me to grab his left wing with my talons, and Cassie held his right to help him balance. It was an ariel freak show. An osprey, a red-tailed hawk, and a peregrine falcon were holding on to an osprey. I prayed no one would see us. But just in about a minute, Marco got control and we let go of him. We hardly talk for the rest of the trip. Finally, torn, bruised and slightly bloody, we landed on the soft green grass of the community center. There was an alley between the Community center and the playground with a dumpster. We landed behind a dumpster. Everyone but I morphed back into human. (or in Ax's case, Andalite)  
"Well, I guess the yeerks have something big planned, after all," Jake whispered.  


**Chapter 6**  


All we could do was shake off our troubles and morph. Not only were we already scared from what happened just minutes ago, we had to morph into flies. No morph is predictable. Especially an insect morph. Bodies around me started to melt and shrink. Mine was too. The first, and probably most disgusting thing happened first. Huge eyes appeared and shattered into thousands of tiny, distorted eyes with a loud popping noise.   
"Guh-ros!" Marco exclaimed. But at that moment, large mouth pieces formed from the side of his cheeks. Even though I've morphed many times before, it's always disgusting. I just turned away from my shape-shifting friends and watched as the ground rushed up at me, as my bones dissolved and as a hard-as-nails exoskeleton covered my outside, as my feathers melted together to form gossamer fly wings, and as thin legs sprouted from my belly. The morph was complete.   
< Everyone ready? > Jake asked once we were all in morph.  
< Ready, > Cassie said.  
< I believe that I am, 'Pumped up,' > Ax replied. I silently laughed to myself. Ax had been watching old episodes of Saturday Night Live again.  
< Let's do it, > Marco exclaimed.  
< Marco, that's Rachel's line, > I said.  
< I know, but I'm warming her seat. > Marco replied, < So let's do it! >  
All I had to do was have the faintest thought of flapping my new wings, and they fired up. I raised myself higher at amazing speed. Flies may only go about four miles per hour, but at this size, that's amazingly fast. I could see everyone else zipping around for the door of the community center. Almost at the same time, we zoomed through a crack in the top of the door and we were in.   
< Erek said the meeting's in the fourth door on the left, > Ax reported.   
We flew along the left wall of the center, my distorted eyes showed thousands of different colors and shades to the white painted wall and doors. In almost no time at all, we found the fourth door, raced through the crack on the top, and found a place on a side wall to listen. The room was pretty large, enormous for the fly eyes, but large in general. It was a white room, with a large table in the middle surrounded by chairs filled with people, and a large window on the side with the shades drawn. All of the controllers talked in a hushed voice. I could recognize some of them. Tom, Jake's brother, Chapman, our vice principal, and Erek. Most were fairly high-ranking controllers. I zoomed under the table on Erek's side to listen in.  
"-It's those pesky andalite bandits who are causing the problem!" Someone exclaimed.  
"We just need to infest more people, faster," A voice I recognized as Tom replied.  
"But how are we going to fool the andalites? They have learned where we are going and when now. Any suggestions to how we can continue on our hierarchy without being intercepted or attacked?" Erek wondered, obviously fooling the yeerks once again.  
I zoomed into a corner of a wall to get a better look.  
"Why do you presume that they know everything about us? They still don't know about anything, they don't understand anything," Chapman intercepted, "we only consort fellow yeerks, Vissers, and the council. Unless anyone is spying. If we find out who is spying, we'll dispose of them and go on our way to victory." Chapman squinted his eyes and looked around the room with contempt. He suspected that someone was a spy. All we had to do is deceive them. Make them believe someone else is a spy. Luckily, someone spoke up.  
"How do we know that _you're_ not a spy, Iniss 226?"  
"You know because I am close to the Visser, and believe me, he will have your head for this. He is coming soon, anyway," Chapman scowled.  
Suddenly, we heard a noise coming from the hallways. Footsteps. Many footsteps. The person who was coming was heavily guarded.  
"Ah, here he comes now, and he won't be satisfied with you," Chapman gloated.  
The door opened and a man stepped in, even though he was clean and dressed with class, he was seething with pure evil. He was followed by many armed guards dressed in black with headset microphones and dracon beams shinning in their coats.   
< Visser Three, > We all whispered in thought-speak. The Visser was intimidating even in his human morph. Even Erek looked slightly nervous.  
"Ah, you're all here," the Visser said casually with an evil grin on his face.  
"We-we-welcome Visser!" Chapman exclaimed, "We were expecting you."  
"Visser, do you really need the guards? I don't think they're necessary. This is just a meeting of our plans of mass-infestation," Tom said with slight fear in his eyes.  
"Don't question my authority or your head will be rolling on the floor and the Taxxons will devour it with pleasure," The Visser retorted.  
< So our old friend hasn't changed very much, I see no one has dared to dig up the rock in his stolen butt, > Marco joked.  
When he was absolutely sure that no one outside was watching him, Visser 3 demorphed into his stolen andalite body.   
< That's better, no need for the guards now, > Visser 3 reported, < wait outside. >  
At the command, all of the guards stepped out of the door, almost cautiously.  
"We await our orders, Visser," Erek said, playing his part perfectly.  
< The mass-infestation, if all goes well, will begin tonight. All Sharing members will be infested, even visitors. The andalites do not know about this. You will not fail. Should you fail, you and your accomplices will be thrown to the Taxxons - alive, > The Visser snapped and squinted his eyes, making him seem even more diabolical than he already was.  
< Tonight? Erek said it started in a week! We have to do something, > Jake exclaimed.  
"Visser, if we begin later, you will seem less desperate to the Council of Thirteen," Erek said.  
< Don't question my authority. I believe that you will be the first to be thrown to the Taxxons, > The Visser scowled, < GUARDS! >  
Armed men came rushing into the room, dragging Erek and _not_ winning. If they succeed, they would know everything about us. Our identity, where we lived, the valley of free Hork-Bajir, the yeerk peace movement, the Chee.  
That was when everything erupted.  


**Chapter 7**  


< We have to do something! > Cassie yelled to us.  
< OK, we'll find a private place do demorph, then remorph into battle morphs, then attack, > Jake ordered. We blasted out of that room as fast as we could. We zipped back to the dumpster, demorphed, then remorphed as fast as we possibly could. I watched as my friends twist and melt back to their normal forms, then immediately remorph into battle morphs. Soon enough, Jake was a tiger, Cassie was an African Cape Buffalo, Marco was a gorilla, I was a polar bear, and Ax was, well, himself, and that was powerful enough. And let me tell you, that was draining. Now we had to fight. We ran as fast as we could to the door we entered in and tore it open. It was splinters when we were finished with it. We practically flew into the room of the meeting, the Visser, the guards, and Erek. Immediately, we were on the guards before they could draw their dracon beams.  
< Erek, get out of here as fast as you can. Use your hologram, we'll catch up to you later, > Jake told Erek. Erek nodded, suddenly disappeared and nobody but us noticed.  
Cassie ran around and just destroyed. Turned over the table and most of the controllers in the chairs, trampled some of the guards. Jake was on the guards, ripping and tearing. Ax was actually tail-to-tail with the Visser. Both of them were sweating, all four of their eyes staring at each other with contempt. Marco was throwing chairs, strangling, and just smashing. I was ripping and biting everywhere. The controllers at the meeting just started hauling butt out of there.   
< Oh no you don't, > Marco exclaimed and grabbed Chapman by the throat, dropping a guard.  
"HEEEEEEROOOOOAR!" Jake roared.  
We were making a horrible din. Suddenly, the room was not just people and animorphs any more   
< Hork Bajir! > Cassie screamed in our heads.  
About that time Visser 3 ran out of the room  
< Good luck. I hope your deaths are slow, > Visser 3 scowled with a huge, evil grin on his face.  
Hork Bajir trampled into the room, blades flashing. Suddenly, one of the guards drew his dracon beam.   
TSEEEEEEEW! The room was filled with red light, and suddenly, it wasn't just that room anymore. Luckily, the beam didn't hit any of us. The guard fired again, singed my fur, and missed me by millimeters! Suddenly, the polar bear's rage caught up to him. I was on him before anyone could say, 'Holy Guacamole!' He fired again. A piece of muscle on my flank was missing.  
< AAAAAAARG! >   
< Holy Sh- >  
< Tobias! >  
It was all one scream. We were fighting, suffering, losing. The yeerk's numbers just kept growing and growing.  
I lost control. I grabbed his stomach and ripped it open. Blood was spilling everywhere. Blood of Hork-Bajir, blood of humans, blood of andalites, blood of Polar bears. Suddenly, Taxxons poured into the room and ate the dead and wounded bodies of hosts. We were suffering. And if we didn't escape soon, we would be Taxxon food.  


**Chapter 8**  


My head was spinning. What just happened? I was lying on the floor, loosing blood. I saw my friends, fighting and loosing. I had to join them. But I couldn't move. We were all bloody and missing surtain body parts. It was a gruesome scene. The Taxxons were approaching to quickly for us to retreat.  
< We can't hold them! > Ax yelled.  
< Jake, Ax, Cassie, Marco, > I said feebly, < I think we have to leave. > Everything was in slow-motion. Every one of my friends turned to me, practically dropping Hork-Bajir and Taxxons they were fighting. Taxxons were slowly eating the Hork-Bajir we were fighting.  
< Tobias! > Yelled Jake, running to my side with his Tiger body. It was missing an ear.   
< Everyone, out! Now! >  
Then Ax, Marco, and Cassie started racing outside, knocking over and trampling Hork-Bajir and Taxxons on the way.  
< Can you make it? > He asked.  
< I don't think so, > I replied, < leave me here, you don't need me.>  
All I could think about right then was Rachel. I missed her. I might not see her again. What if I died? Would she miss me too? My mind was growing dark. At least my last thoughts were of Rachel.  
Suddenly, a Taxxon came to me and opened its mouth. Jake just slammed into it and a green liquid poured on me. The Hork-Bajir were retreating. Their numbers were weakening from our retreat and the Taxxons were devouring thier wounded bodies rapidly. A wonderful sign. Probably the last good sign I would ever see. That woke me up a little.  
< Yes, we do. Now come with me. >  
He grabbed my left front leg in his mouth and with all his might, he dragged me. It took him a few seconds to start moving, but, amazingly, he was able to drag me. Hork-Bajir were practically on top of us, but Jake used himself as a shield, letting adrenaline guide every ounce of strength he had. When we reached the hall, I started to demorph. My mind was getting hazy... couldn't concentrate... I was growing smaller. Strange. Jake was getting faster and faster with dragging me, and when my vision started to improve, he just picked me up, a ball of tattered feathers, and ran outside, kicking over Hork-Bajir and Taxxons as he went.  


**Chapter 9**  


We met behind the dumpster and demorphed. I tried not to look as my friends' bodies were mutating and twisting to reform. All I could see was wounds being replaced by new, pink, brown, olive and blue skin. Where blood once soaked my friends, fresh, almost untouched skin and morphing outfits evolved. Yet the physical wounds were healed, the emotional ones would never heal. If you have a burden, and I believe we all do at some time in our life, even after it's all gone, we remember it, and we are never the same.   
I looked at my friends. We were shaky from the fight.  
"That was fun. Let's never, EVER do that again," Marco exclaimed when we were all back.   
"We're still not safe here. When I was getting Tobias out here I saw Hork-Bajir and Taxxons loading bug fighters. Let's morph to birds and get out of this place," Jake said orderly. His eyes were watering. Suddenly, he practically jumped on Cassie, embracing her. They started to sob and they kissed each other on the cheeks and on the necks. Suddenly they stopped, looking embarrassed. I missed Rachel. Looking at Jake and Cassie savoring their lives together made me slightly jealous. Why did they have to be embarassed about embracing? At least they were happy.  
Right then, all of my friends looked disturbed. All they could do was start morphing. Their arms grew patterns of brownish or grayish or a golden color and they sprouted wings. A rather beautiful thing after something so ugly. Thier mouths formed to beaks, their eyes changing color and becomming a new shape, shrinking all the while. Soon enough, we were in the air. As we lifted off into the fading blue sky, we could see Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, and humans loading Bug fighters in the back of the community center. When they lifted off, they cloaked themselves. I guess in some way we all wanted to go home. I was watching a particularly large Bug Fighter when something went horribly wrong.  
< Look at that! > Cassie yelled.   
Every Bug Fighter was cloaking themselves when they were rising, but one was just rising higher and higher into the atmosphere without doing anything. It wasn't cloaking. It wasn't even going fast enough to go faster than a regular, human plane. It had no place here. Soon enough, radar would see it and humans would know. But was this a good sign or a bad sign?   
< Look! It's getting out of control! > Marco exclaimed.  
The Bug Fighter twisted and shuddered in the air, and it started to drop, a whirlpool of black spacecraft in the sky. In just seconds, it dropped like a stone, right above the Community center.   
With that, we all flew madly out of range of this rouge ship.   
< Oh. My. God. > Cassie whispered, and BA-BOOM! The Community center, filled with hundreds of innocent people, hosts ruled by the yeerks, animals, and children burst into flames, exposing the huge chamber that was the yeerk pool underneath it.  
  


TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
~~~  
Author's Note:  


So It's finally up! I'm sorry it took so long, I had writer's block and school, and together, that is NOT a good mix. I hope you like it so far! I'll have better notes and thank yous at the last part of the fic. If you have any comments or questions, write to [Falcon795@aol.com][1]. Oh, and BTW, for those who are wondering, the font is Book Antiqua :)  
  


   [1]: mailto: Falcon795@aol.com



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